<s>
A	O
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
or	O
a	O
"	O
flash	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
"	O
is	O
a	O
video	O
game	O
that	O
is	O
played	O
via	O
the	O
internet	O
using	O
a	O
web	B-Application
browser	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
are	O
also	O
available	O
as	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
,	O
PC	O
games	O
,	O
or	O
on	O
consoles	B-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
users	O
,	O
the	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
version	O
is	O
not	O
having	O
to	O
install	O
the	O
game	O
;	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
automatically	O
downloads	B-Application
the	O
necessary	O
content	O
from	O
the	O
game	O
's	O
website	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
version	O
may	O
have	O
fewer	O
features	O
or	O
inferior	O
graphics	O
compared	O
to	O
the	O
others	O
,	O
which	O
are	O
usually	O
native	B-Language
apps	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
front	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
of	O
a	O
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
is	O
what	O
runs	O
in	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
browser	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
is	O
implemented	O
with	O
the	O
standard	O
web	O
technologies	O
of	O
HTML	B-Language
,	O
CSS	B-Language
,	O
JavaScript	B-Language
,	O
and	O
WebAssembly	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
addition	O
,	O
WebGL	B-Library
enables	O
more	O
sophisticated	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
On	O
the	O
back	B-Architecture
end	I-Architecture
,	O
numerous	O
server	B-Application
technologies	O
can	O
be	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
past	O
,	O
many	O
games	O
were	O
created	O
with	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
,	O
but	O
they	O
can	O
no	O
longer	O
be	O
played	O
in	O
the	O
major	O
browsers	B-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
Google	B-Application
Chrome	O
,	O
Safari	O
,	O
and	O
Firefox	O
due	O
to	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
being	O
shut	O
down	O
on	O
December	O
31	O
,	O
2020	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
the	O
Internet	O
first	O
became	O
widely	O
available	O
and	O
initial	O
web	B-Application
browsers	I-Application
with	O
basic	B-Language
HTML	I-Language
support	O
were	O
released	O
,	O
the	O
earliest	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
were	O
similar	O
to	O
text-based	O
Multi-User	B-Application
Dungeons	I-Application
(	O
MUDs	B-Application
)	O
,	O
minimizing	O
interactions	O
to	O
what	O
implemented	O
through	O
simple	O
browser	B-Application
controls	O
but	O
supporting	O
online	O
interactions	O
with	O
other	O
players	O
through	O
a	O
basic	O
client	B-Operating_System
–	I-Operating_System
server	I-Operating_System
model	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
of	O
the	O
first	O
known	O
examples	O
of	O
a	O
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
was	O
Earth	O
2025	O
,	O
first	O
released	O
in	O
1995	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Browser	B-Application
technology	O
quickly	O
began	O
to	O
mature	O
in	O
the	O
mid-1990s	O
with	O
support	O
for	O
browser	B-Protocol
plug-ins	I-Protocol
and	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
JavaScript	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
More	O
advanced	O
browser	B-Application
interactions	O
,	O
unbounded	O
by	O
the	O
restrictions	O
of	O
HTML	B-Language
and	O
that	O
used	O
client-side	B-Operating_System
processing	O
were	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Among	O
other	O
browser	B-Protocol
extensions	I-Protocol
,	O
these	O
new	O
plug-ins	O
allowed	O
uses	O
to	O
run	O
applets	B-Language
made	O
in	O
the	O
Java	B-Language
language	I-Language
and	O
interactive	O
animations	O
created	O
in	O
Macromedia	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
.	O
</s>
<s>
Instead	O
,	O
these	O
technologies	O
found	O
use	O
by	O
programmers	O
to	O
create	O
small	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
among	O
other	O
unexpected	O
uses	O
such	O
as	O
general	O
animation	O
tools	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Sites	O
began	O
to	O
emerge	O
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
to	O
collect	O
these	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
and	O
other	O
works	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Sun	O
Microsystems	O
 '	O
HotJava	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
acquired	O
one	O
such	O
site	O
,	O
The	O
Village	O
,	O
in	O
1996	O
,	O
and	O
rebranded	O
it	O
as	O
the	O
Internet	B-Application
Gaming	I-Application
Zone	I-Application
,	O
offering	O
various	O
card	O
and	O
board	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
ClassicGames.com	B-Application
was	O
created	O
in	O
1997	O
to	O
host	O
a	O
selection	O
of	O
classic	O
,	O
Java-based	O
online	O
multiplayer	O
games	O
such	O
as	O
chess	O
and	O
checkers	O
;	O
its	O
popularity	O
led	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
to	O
purchase	O
the	O
site	O
in	O
1998	O
and	O
rebranding	O
it	O
as	O
Yahoo	B-Application
!	I-Application
</s>
<s>
In	O
1999	O
,	O
Tom	O
Fulp	B-Operating_System
kickstarted	O
the	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
scene	O
with	O
the	O
release	O
of	O
the	O
game	O
Pico	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
School	I-Operating_System
on	O
his	O
site	O
Newgrounds	B-Operating_System
that	O
featured	O
a	O
"	O
complexity	O
of	O
design	O
and	O
polish	O
in	O
presentation	O
that	O
was	O
virtually	O
unseen	O
in	O
amateur	O
Flash	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
development	O
"	O
of	O
the	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Expansion	O
of	O
broadband	O
connectivity	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
drew	O
more	O
people	O
to	O
play	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
through	O
these	O
sites	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
added	O
attention	O
as	O
viral	O
phenomenon	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Social	O
media	O
sites	O
also	O
drove	O
more	O
players	O
to	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Facebook	B-Application
,	O
after	O
launching	O
in	O
2004	O
,	O
added	O
support	O
for	O
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
functionality	O
that	O
integrated	O
with	O
its	O
social	O
network	O
features	O
,	O
creating	O
social	O
network	O
games	O
,	O
notably	O
with	O
Zynga	O
's	O
Farmville	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
success	O
of	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
did	O
hurt	O
some	O
developers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Humongous	O
Entertainment	O
reported	O
that	O
they	O
lost	O
players	O
to	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
in	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
were	O
considered	O
to	O
have	O
hit	O
their	O
peak	O
in	O
the	O
mid-2000s	O
but	O
waned	O
by	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
First	O
was	O
the	O
introduction	O
of	O
mobile	B-Application
gaming	I-Application
,	O
primarily	O
with	O
Apple	O
's	O
iPhone	B-Device
release	O
in	O
2007	O
and	O
the	O
availability	O
of	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Through	O
the	O
App	B-Application
Store	I-Application
,	O
anyone	O
could	O
release	O
apps	O
for	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
,	O
and	O
with	O
the	O
addition	O
of	O
in-app	O
purchases	O
,	O
new	O
revenue	O
models	O
such	O
as	O
free-to-play	O
quickly	O
emerged	O
for	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
well	O
surpassing	O
the	O
current	O
ad-driven	O
revenue	O
model	O
of	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Google	B-Application
used	O
the	O
same	O
concepts	O
for	O
developing	O
the	O
Android	B-Application
storefront	O
Play	B-Application
Store	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Developers	O
either	O
augmented	B-Protocol
browser	I-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
or	O
shifted	O
to	O
the	O
mobile	O
platform	O
to	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
new	O
revenue	O
opportunities	O
;	O
notably	O
,	O
King	O
transitioned	O
one	O
of	O
its	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
into	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
most	O
successful	O
mobile	B-Application
games	I-Application
,	O
Candy	B-Application
Crush	I-Application
Saga	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
second	O
factor	O
came	O
from	O
the	O
claimed	O
"	O
death	O
knell	O
"	O
for	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
via	O
way	O
of	O
Steve	O
Jobs	O
 '	O
open	O
letter	O
to	O
Adobe	O
in	O
2010	O
,	O
stating	O
that	O
Apple	O
would	O
not	O
support	O
Flash	O
on	O
the	O
iPhone	B-Device
platform	O
due	O
to	O
security	O
concerns	O
and	O
other	O
factors	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
About	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
Jobs	O
 '	O
letter	O
,	O
Adobe	O
announced	O
it	O
would	O
start	O
deprecating	O
Flash	O
and	O
transition	O
users	O
to	O
HTML5	B-Application
and	O
other	O
open	O
standards	O
in	O
its	O
other	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
little	O
future	O
in	O
Flash	O
,	O
developers	O
moved	O
away	O
from	O
the	O
browser	B-Application
platform	O
in	O
the	O
early	O
2010s	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
the	O
latter	O
part	O
of	O
the	O
2000s	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
also	O
overlapped	O
with	O
the	O
emergence	O
of	O
indie	O
games	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
gave	O
a	O
venue	O
for	O
such	O
titles	O
during	O
the	O
early	O
2000s	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
broader	O
interest	O
in-browser	O
games	O
by	O
the	O
mid-2000s	O
highlighted	O
several	O
of	O
these	O
titles	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Subsequently	O
,	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
early	O
indie	O
games	O
are	O
those	O
based	O
on	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
,	O
such	O
as	O
The	O
Behemoth	O
's	O
Castle	B-Application
Crashers	I-Application
,	O
inspired	O
by	O
Newgrounds	B-Operating_System
 '	O
Alien	B-Operating_System
Hominid	I-Operating_System
and	O
Edmund	O
McMillen	O
's	O
Super	B-Application
Meat	I-Application
Boy	I-Application
based	O
on	O
his	O
Meat	B-Application
Boy	I-Application
browser	B-Protocol
game	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Other	O
indie	O
developers	O
got	O
their	O
start	O
in	O
browser	B-Application
and	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
,	O
including	O
Vlambeer	O
,	O
Bennett	O
Foddy	O
,	O
and	O
Maddy	O
Thorson	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Post-2010	O
,	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
written	O
in	O
other	O
formats	O
besides	O
Flash	O
remain	O
popular	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
HTML5	B-Application
,	O
WebGL	B-Library
,	O
and	O
WebAssembly	B-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
.io	B-General_Concept
domain	I-General_Concept
,	O
which	O
was	O
first	O
used	O
in	O
2015	O
by	O
Agar.io,	O
has	O
become	O
a	O
popular	O
domain	O
attached	O
to	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
,	O
because	O
of	O
its	O
short	O
length	O
,	O
the	O
ease	O
of	O
acquiring	O
the	O
domain	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
association	O
with	O
programming	O
because	O
"	O
io	O
"	O
can	O
also	O
stand	O
for	O
input/output	B-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
for	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
games	O
,	O
various	O
collection	O
of	O
such	O
games	O
can	O
be	O
found	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
Adobe	B-Operating_System
Flash	I-Operating_System
is	O
"	O
broken	O
"	O
and	O
hard	O
to	O
launch	O
in	O
2023	O
,	O
one	O
can	O
use	O
alternatives	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
BlueMaxima	O
's	O
Flashpoint	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
in	O
the	O
late	O
1990s	O
and	O
early	O
2000s	O
received	O
attention	O
through	O
the	O
use	O
of	O
shock	O
comedy	O
or	O
real-world	B-Application
events	I-Application
,	O
like	O
McDonald	B-Application
's	I-Application
Videogame	I-Application
,	O
a	O
satire	O
of	O
McDonald's'	O
business	O
practices	O
,	O
or	O
Darfur	B-Operating_System
is	I-Operating_System
Dying	I-Operating_System
,	O
about	O
the	O
War	O
in	O
Darfur	O
,	O
Sudan	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2017	O
,	O
Julie	O
Muncy	O
writing	O
for	O
Wired	O
said	O
,	O
"	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
lent	O
themselves	O
to	O
the	O
exaggerated	O
and	O
cartoonish	O
,	O
a	O
style	O
that	O
eventually	O
evolved	O
into	O
an	O
affection-at	O
least	O
amongst	O
its	O
best	O
creators-for	O
beautiful	O
grotesquerie	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
much	O
of	O
the	O
younger	O
gaming	O
internet	O
,	O
Flash	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
defined	O
boundaries	O
simply	O
to	O
cross	O
them	O
;	O
the	O
best	O
titles	O
straddled	O
a	O
weird	O
line	O
between	O
innocence	O
and	O
cruelty	O
,	O
full	O
of	O
gorgeous	O
gore	O
and	O
enthralling	O
body	O
horror	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Newgrounds	B-Operating_System
founder	O
Tom	O
Fulp	B-Operating_System
created	O
a	O
game	O
called	O
Pico	B-Operating_System
's	I-Operating_System
School	I-Operating_System
based	O
on	O
the	O
Columbine	O
shootings	O
,	O
where	O
the	O
player	O
must	O
take	O
down	O
a	O
goth	O
school	O
shooter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
a	O
few	O
other	O
controversies	O
involving	O
browser	B-Protocol
games	I-Protocol
and	O
real-world	B-Application
events	I-Application
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
2007	O
Virginia	O
Tech	O
shooting	O
reenactment	O
V-Tech	B-Operating_System
Rampage	I-Operating_System
,	O
and	O
NRA	O
CEO	O
Wayne	O
LaPierre	O
targeting	O
the	O
game	O
Kindergarten	O
Killers	O
after	O
the	O
2012	O
Sandy	O
Hook	O
shootings	O
.	O
</s>
